Studies on molecular mechanisms of growth inhibitory effects of thymoquinone against prostate cancer cells: role of reactive oxygen species.

Thymoquinone (TQ), an active ingredient of black seed oil (Nigella Sativa), has been shown to possess antineoplastic activity against a variety of experimental tumors. However, the precise mechanism of action of TQ is not known. We investigated the mechanism of action of TQ in androgen receptor (AR)-independent (C4-2B) and AR naïve (PC-3) prostate cancer cells, as models of aggressive prostate cancers.

A modified surgical schedule for primary management of cleft lip and palate in developing countries.

Introduction: In developing countries cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients arrive late, and there is a risk of drop out for functionally important palatoplasty after lip repair. Patients may be underweight, anemic, and prone to recurrent infections.

Objective: To repair cleft palate at an appropriate time and secondly to avoid the drop out after the first surgery.

Congenital fusion of the jaws: a management protocol.

Congenital fusion of the jaws is the inability to open the mouth at the time of birth. It occurs as a result of fusion of the jaws or fusion of the mandible to zygoma or temporal bone. The authors report four case studies and describe their management protocol.

Chronic inhibition of nitric-oxide synthase induces hypertension and erectile dysfunction in the rat that is not reversed by sildenafil.

Study Type: Aetiology (case control) Level of Evidence 3b OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-induced hypertension (HT) on erectile function in the rat and determine if the phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitor, sildenafil, can reverse the effects of nitric oxide (NO) deficiency, as HT is a risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED) and the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME induces NO-deficient HT.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six adult Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into three groups, i.e.

Cleft palate repair and variations.

Cleft palate affects almost every function of the face except vision. Today a child born with cleft palate with or without cleft lip should not be considered as unfortunate, because surgical repair of cleft palate has reached a highly satisfactory level. However for an average cleft surgeon palatoplasty remains an enigma.

Independent and cooperative roles of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, nuclear factor-kappaB, and bone morphogenetic protein-2 in regulation of metastasis and osteomimicry of prostate cancer cells and differentiation and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells.

The molecular mechanisms involved in prostate cancer (PC) metastasis and bone remodeling are poorly understood. We recently reported that phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) mediates transcriptional regulation and activation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 signaling by nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB in bone metastatic prostate cancer cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that NF-kappaB, whether activated by recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha or by ectopic expression of the p65 subunit, is involved in extracellular matrix adhesion and invasion of osteotropic PC-3 and C4-2B, but not LNCaP, cells.

Flexible laryngeal mask airway for cleft palate surgery in children: a randomized clinical trial on efficacy and safety.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a flexible laryngeal mask airway in children undergoing palatoplasty.

Design: Prospective, randomized, single-center study.

Setting: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research.

Shared visual attention and memory systems in the Drosophila brain.

Background: Selective attention and memory seem to be related in human experience. This appears to be the case as well in simple model organisms such as the fly Drosophila melanogaster. Mutations affecting olfactory and visual memory formation in Drosophila, such as in dunce and rutabaga, also affect short-term visual processes relevant to selective attention.

Therapeutic effects of Nigella sativa on chronic HAART-induced hyperinsulinemia in rats.

Prolonged use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is associated with insulin resistance in HIV-1-positive patients. Small animal models that recapitulate the long-term effects of HAART may facilitate the identification of therapeutic agents to suppress these side effects. We investigated the protective effects of black seed oil (BSO) from Nigella sativa in Sprague-Dawley rats treated with a daily HAART regimen for 7 months.

HIV-1 protease inhibitor induced oxidative stress suppresses glucose stimulated insulin release: protection with thymoquinone.

The highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimen has considerably reduced the mortality rate in HIV-1 positive patients. However, long-term exposure to HAART is associated with a metabolic syndrome manifesting cardiovascular dysfunction, lipodystrophy, and insulin resistance syndrome (IRS). The inclusion of HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) in HAART has been linked to the induction of IRS.

Basaloid squamous carcinoma of mandible.

Basaloid squamous carcinoma is a rare distinct histologic variant of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. Basaloid squamous carcinoma is more aggressive and has a poorer prognosis, although histologically, it is associated with squamous cell carcinoma and squamous atypia. The usual site of occurrence for basaloid squamous carcinoma is the base of the tongue, hypopharynx (pyriform sinus), and the supraglottic larynx (Wain et al.

Radioprotection in mice following oral administration of WR-1065/PLGA nanoparticles.

Purpose: N-(2-mercaptoethyl)1,3-diaminopropane (WR-1065), is the active metabolite of amifostine, a broad spectrum cytoprotective agent used in conjunction with both chemo- and radiotherapy of certain cancers. This report describes for the first time an oral formulation of WR-1065 and follows on from our earlier report of a similar oral formulation of amifostine.

Materials And Methods: The nanoparticles of WR-1065 were prepared by spray drying technique using poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) as the polymer matrix.

Alfuzosin attenuates erectile dysfunction in rats with partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Objective: To determine how partial bladder outlet obstruction (PBOO) in a rat model affects erectile function, and whether an uroselective alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist, alfuzosin (Sanofi-Aventis, Paris, France) attenuates any erectile dysfunction (ED).

Materials And Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (120) were randomized into four groups: 1, sham-operated; 2, alfuzosin-treated; 3, PBOO; and 4, alfuzosin-treated with PBOO. Groups 3 and 4 were subjected to PBOO for 6 weeks by ligation of the urethra, while groups 2 and 4 rats received daily oral alfuzosin (10 mg/day) for 6 weeks.

PI3K/Akt-dependent transcriptional regulation and activation of BMP-2-Smad signaling by NF-kappaB in metastatic prostate cancer cells.

Background: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) exert osteoinductive effects in prostate cancer (PC) via uncharacterized mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether the nuclear transcription factor NF-kappaB, implicated in PC metastasis, is involved in transcriptional regulation and activation of BMP-2 or BMP-4/Smad signaling in PC cells.

Methods: NF-kappaB inhibition was achieved by IkappaBalpha super-repressor adenoviral vector and activation was monitored by EMSA and reporter assays.

On-site determination of tin in geological and water samples using novel organic reagent with iodide.

A new, simple and sensitive method for spectrophotometric determination of tin (IV) with iodide and amide is described. The Sn(IV)-I(-) complex is extracted with chloroform solution of amide (N-phenylacetamide, N-alkylacetamide, alkyl=butyl, phenyl, hexyl and octyl group) in the strong sulphuric acid solution. Among five amides studied, N-octylacetamide (OAA) has been selected as it yielded best sensitivity.

Molecular analysis of cocaine-induced endothelial dysfunction: role of endothelin-1 and nitric oxide.

Cocaine remains the most frequently used illicit substance. Although cocaine-induced atherosclerosis is well documented, its mechanism of action on human vascular endothelial cells has not been determined. Nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) are involved in endothelial cell activation and leukocyte recruitment.

Low levels of awareness, vaccine coverage, and the need for boosters among health care workers in tertiary care hospitals in India.

Background And Aim: The risk of acquiring hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection through exposure to blood or its products is highest amongst health care workers (HCWs). Despite potential risks, a proportion of HCWs never get vaccinated. India is second to China in the numbers of people with chronic HBV.

Development of surfactant assisted spectrophotometric method for determination of selenium in waste water samples.

A new, simple and highly selective method for spectrophotometric determination of selenium in waste water samples is described. Selenium(IV) oxidizes I(-) ions into I(2) which subsequently reacts with excess of I(-) ion in the acidic media to give tri-iodide ions (I(3)(-)), and it further reacts with cetylpyridinium cation (CP(+)) to give a violet colored species. The value of molar absorptivity of the ion-associate species in terms of selenium is 1.

Trace level determination of molybdenum in environmental and biological samples using surfactant-mediated liquid-liquid extraction.

A novel and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of molybdenum at trace levels in environmental and biological samples is proposed. The method is based on the reaction of Mo (V) with thiocyanate (SCN(-)) and methyltrioctyl ammonium chloride (MTOAC) in acidic medium. The red colored complex of molybdenum is extracted with N-phenylbenzimidoyl thiourea (PBITU) in 1-pentanol for its determination by spectrophotometry.

Selective blockade of T-type Ca2+ channels suppresses human breast cancer cell proliferation.

We have measured the expression of T-type Ca2+ channel mRNA in breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 (ERalpha+) using Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (Q-RT-PCR). These results revealed that the MCF-7 cells express both alpha1G and alpha1H isoforms of T-type Ca2+ channels. In order to further clarify the role of T-type Ca2+ channels in proliferation, we tested the effects of a selective T-type Ca2+ channel inhibitor NNC-55-0396 on cellular proliferation.

Cutaneous diphtheria masquerading as a sexually transmitted disease.

A 41 year-old, sexually promiscuous, married male, an agricultural laborer by occupation, presented to our sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic with multiple ulcers over the scrotum and genitalia of 20 days' duration. Bacterial culture from swabs taken from the genital ulcer, grew organisms morphologically and biochemically characteristic of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. He made a complete and uneventful recovery after two weeks of therapy with antidiphtheria serum and crystalline penicillin.

Reverse micellar microextraction for rapid analysis of thiol-containing peptides and amino acids by atmospheric-pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization ion trap and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Simple, rapid and inexpensive one-step reverse micellar microextraction (RMME) procedures were combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) for the determination of thiol-containing peptides and amino acids. In this investigation, a thiol-containing peptide (HW6) was chosen as model compound to understand the mechanism of RMME. The electrostatic interactions between the thiol-containing peptide and reverse micelles were proposed to be reason for the transfer of analytes from the aqueous phase to the organic phase.

Bare silica nanoparticles as concentrating and affinity probes for rapid analysis of aminothiols, lysozyme and peptide mixtures using atmospheric-pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization ion trap and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The analysis of peptide mixtures from urine and plasma samples using bare (uncapped) SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with atmospheric-pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (AP-MALDI-MS) has been reported. The method was based on the adsorption of positively charged peptides on the surface of negatively charged SiO2 NPs through the electrostatic force of attraction. The adsorption on the surface of SiO2 NPs caused enhancement of ionization efficiency of analytes and subsequently increased the signal intensity of peptides.

On-site spectrophotometric determination of antimony in water, soil and dust samples of Central India.

A new, selective and sensitive on-site spectrophotometric method for the determination of antimony at trace level in water, soil and dust samples of Central India has been demonstrated. It is based on the color reaction of Sb(III) with I(-) ions in the presence of a cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in acidic media, and subsequent extraction of the complex with N-phenylbenzimidoylthiourea (PBITU) into chloroform to give a yellow colored complex. The value of apparent molar absorptivity of the complex in the terms of Sb is (7.